Embassy Row

U.S. ENVOY RATTLES SYRIA

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford to express its outrage over a trip he took to a restive city to show Washington’s support for anti-government demonstrators.

Mr. Ford, who was accompanied by French Ambassador Eric Chevallier, demonstrated “clear evidence of the American and French intervention in Syria’s internal affairs and confirms that there is external support [for the protesters],” a Foreign Ministry official told the state news agency SANA.

The news agency added: “The Foreign Ministry [expressed] strong objection over their visit to the city of Hama without the approval from the ministry.”

Pro-government demonstrators threw tomatoes, eggs and rocks at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Sunday to protest Mr. Ford’s visit. A State Department official said two embassy employees were struck by food but no one was injured.

The State Department sent a clear message last week, when spokeswoman Victoria Nuland announced that Mr. Ford would show support for the anti-government protesters by visiting Hama, which is ringed by security forces.

“The fundamental intention … was to make absolutely clear with his physical presence that we stand with those Syrians who are expressing their right to speak for change, who want a democratic future and who are expressing those views peacefully,” she told reporters.

Thousands of Hama residents waving olive branches and tossing flowers greeted Mr. Ford and Mr. Chevallier on Thursday after they arrived in Syria’s fourth-largest city, which has been the scene of large protests against the autocratic rule of President Bashar al-Assad .

The State Department, by publicly announcing the visit, also sent a signal to critics in Washington who complained that Mr. Ford had been too timid in responding to about 14 weeks of anti-government protests and security forces accused of killing more than 1,600 people.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was angered last month when Mr. Ford went on a government-sponsored trip to Jisr ash-Shughur after Syrian troops seized the city to clear out demonstrators.

“It compromised U.S. credibility with freedom and pro-democracy advocates within Syria at a critical time,” the Florida Republican said.

Also Sunday, Iran, which has strong ties with Syria, complained about Mr. Ford’s visit to Hama.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani called Mr. Ford’s visit “suspicious,” the Iranian news agency FARS reported.

DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC

Foreign visitors in Washington this week include:

Monday

• The Dalai Lama, who attends the Kalachakra for World Peace ritual at the Verizon Center.

Wednesday

• Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic of the Slovak Republic, who meets administration officials.

• Juergen Trittin, chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Green Party of the German parliament who addresses the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Thursday

• Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia, who addresses the Peterson Institute for International Economics on how Latvia survived the global financial crisis.

• He Wenping of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Annie S.C. Wu of the China-Africa Business Council. They discuss Chinese-African trade at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Friday

• Dunja Mijatovic, representative for Freedom of the Media at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Rafal Rohozinski of the Canada Center for Global Security Studies. They testify about Internet freedom in Europe before the congressional Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe at 10 a.m. in Room 210 of the Cannon House Office Building.

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297 or email jmorrison@washingtontimes.com. The column is published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.